Once flea allergy dermatitis and food allergies are excluded, quite often atopic dermatitis is suspected.
What is atopy in dogs?
Atopy, or atopic dermatitis, is a generalised allergy to things in the environment like pollen, dustmites, grasses, etc. Some dogs with atopy might only be allergic to one or two things, but others might be allergic to literally dozens of allergens. This is similar to humans - ever noticed how some people who are allergic to cats are often also allergic to dust and pollen too?
Like hayfever in humans, dogs can experience symptoms in the spring time as grass, plants, and pollens start to proliferate. For some unfortunate dogs, however, symptoms can last all year round (particularly if your dog is allergic to dust).
Symptoms commonly manifest as seasonal itching, biting or licking of the paws, itchy ears, and watery or goopy eyes (conjunctivitis).
Unfortunately, unlike changing your pet's diet or keeping flea control up to date, avoiding pollen and grass is not a feasible task. Unless your pooch is kept in a quarantine zone, pollen and dust exposure is inevitable. If your dog is experiencing environmental allergies, you will need to visit a veterinarian for advice on oral or injectable medications, such as Apoquel.
Dogs with atopic dermatitis can have intradermal skin testing with a veterinary dermatologist to identify the cause of their allergies. This is usually followed by a course of immunisations to desensitise the dog against the cause of the allergy, helping to control symptoms. Although not always effective, this approach is the best way to avoid long term use of steroids.
If intradermal testing and desensitisation are not effective or available, other medications and methods can be used to try and minimise the side effects, or strengthen the skin barrier. Which brings us to our next step...
